John L Rice Modular Rack

via John L Rice

"Moon Modular M569 sequencer. My Moon M564 quad switch is now in the top row (not show here) with 6 open space impatiently waiting the M569. Bottom row is the COTK C1670 Ensemble Generator, COTK C1680 Delay and ‘Moog’ 9504A LPF."

be sure to check out John L Rice's YouTube channel.


The Last King
YouTube via JohnLRice
"(note: the sound starts out at a very low volume intentionally!)

I started this piece over 2 months ago but, faced with the difficulty of telling the story I envisioned for it and not being particularly happy with all of the music, I kept putting it off. A couple days ago I decided to just go ahead and finish it the best I could with the smallest amount of time and money I could tolerate.

I have a few ideas as to what the video now represents to me but if you happen to be inspired, please write down your story line, scenario or thought in the comments section, I would love to read what think!

Thank you for watching, rating and commenting on my videos!"

Tags:
modular synthesizer Moog MinitMoog Synth Tech MOTM Synthesizers.com Club Of The Knobs COTK Moon Modular king royalty castle tower end of an era percussion prog rock destruction mankind

Five Thoughts For Eurorack Modular

Published on Mar 2, 2018 John L Rice

"While this isn't a demo of the ADDAC214 VC Rotator, all five of these pieces use it in the patch. See patch details below:

Unless otherwise noted the following terms indicate:
ADDAC214 - ADDAC System ADDAC214 VC Rotator sequential switch
VCO - Synth Tech E330 Multimode VCO
EG - Modcan Quad Envelope
VCA - Bubble Sound VCA4p
Voice - VCO+EG+VCA
Mixer - Circuit Abbey Unify + expander
Sequencer - Division6 Mattson SQ816
Clock - Erica Synths Black VC Clock v2
LFO - Erica Synths Black Octasource
E102 - Synth Tech E102 Quad Temporal Shifter
QPQ - Instruo Quad Performance Quantizer
Delay - Mooer Ocean Machine pedal
Reverb - Mooer Ocean Machine and TC Electronic T2 pedals

1) Initial Test 0:00
A typical 4 voice patch I do with this system is to process a CV sequence through the E102 shift register and then through the QPQ to provide CV and gates for the Voices. In this case the ADDAC214 is inserted between the E102 and QPQ so that when clocked at a faster rate the QPQ gets channel updates more often and fires the Voices more often. I'm using a modified Doepfer A-182-1 Switched Multiple + Doepfer A-180-2 Multiple to switch between the different Clock outputs. Delay used was the Synth Tech E580 Resampling Mini Delay.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Mellow Moon

Published on May 9, 2016 John L Rice

"The video here is a closeup of my Moon Modular 569 sequencer shot with a Canon 135mm f/2.8 soft focus lens, set to the #2 soft focus setting and then dialed completely out of focus. Don't get hypnotized! ;-)"

Update:

Mellow Moon II

Published on May 12, 2016 John L Rice

"More of the same music from Moon Modular and Synth Tech modules, out of focus sequencer video plus some Moon video footage I shot from my driveway Wednesday night.

Moon Modular 569 sequencer shot with a Canon C100 MkI camera and Canon 135mm f/2.8 soft focus lens, set to the #2 soft focus setting and then dialed completely out of focus.

The actual Moon was shot with a Canon C100 MkI camera and
Opteka 500mm f/6.3 mirror lens for the first two clips and then I added in the 2x converter for the second two clips, effectively making the reach 1000mm.

Both times the C100 A/V output was recorded to an Atomos Ninja Blade using the DNxHD 4.2.2 x codec.

Thank you for watching, rating and commenting! :-)"

New GRP A10 Flagship Synthesizer Incoming

These in via John L Rice.

Left: front panel layout.

Below: PDF with full details. Click on each pic to zoom in.

Update: "The Grp A10 will cost €10,000* plus VAT and will be available at the end of 2026."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Quick Random Tests - Moon 517 VCF and Krisp1 OCTO LFO

Published on Dec 8, 2017 John L Rice

"Featured:
Moon Modular 517 Coupled Dual High&Low Pass VCF and Krisp1 OCTO Quadrature LFO

Additional items used at different times throughout:
Synth Tech MOTM: 300 VCOs, 310 VCOs, 800 EGs, 101 noise, 190 VCA, 650 MIDI-CV
Moon Modular: 511c EG, 526 mixers, 568 trigger sequencer
Modcan: 58B VCOs, 31B VCAs/mixer
Roland: A-88 keyboard, Integra-7 sound modules, RSP-550 effects
Yamaha: FS1R synthesizer
Allen-Heath: MixWizard 20S
Strymon: BigSky and Timeline pedals

Since I was learning how to use the Moon 517 and Krisp1 OCTO I decided to throw a camera up and record some of it but I didn't take the time to make sure I had everything setup well so the focus is weird and during editing I didn't take the time to explain what is taking place so . . . this may be of interest only to people looking to buy the Moon 517 or Krisp1 OCTO . . .and maybe not even then?? ;-)"

And a track:

He Who Brings Fire Waits For No One

Published on Dec 8, 2017 John L Rice

"This music was done at the tail end of the recording session for my previous video https://youtu.be/o9ygPNKcSGU but I decided to make a separate video for it. It features the Moon 517 VCF and Krisp1 OCTO LFO although you don't really see them.

The patch is 4 MOTM-300 VCOs, two are set to static drone notes and sent to separate L & R Moon 526 mixers and two are voiced with MOTM-800 EGs and MOTM-190 VCAs and then also sent to the mixers. The output of the mixers go to the L & R inputs of the Moon 517 VCF in Separate mode and the Krisp1 OCTO is slowely modulating the 517.

I'm using a Roland A-88 keyboard to control the two voiced VCO via a MOTM-650 MIDI to CV module and the gate out is also routed to a Moon 511c EF that modulated the speed of the OCTO. And a Moon 568 trigger sequencer is modulating the 517 for some rhythmic content.

The outputs of the 517 go to an Allen and Heath MixWizard 20S mixer and well as the Roland Integra-7 that is playing the high voice brought in half way through and controlled by the same keyboard.

The only effects used are Strymon BigSky reverb and Timeline delay which are connected via the 20S effects send/return channels.

Additional video clips licensed through Pond5.com"

April 26, 2022

video upload by John L Rice

Manikin Schrittmacher sequencer on the top left. Vermona Perfourmer & Mellotron Micro featured in this one. You can find additional John L Rice Mellotron posts here.

Update: YT description added:

"Realtime test after recently reconfiguring my custom pedalboard patch bay. Recorded on my iPad with no edits. Besides the Mellotron Micro Keyboard, the case is a modified MXC-008-10 mixer case from Audiopile.net and contains the following:

Left side:
Manikin Electronic Schrittmacher sequencer
Vermona PERfourMER MKII quad synth

Right side:
Mackie 802-VLZ3 mixer and power supply
Keeley Electronics Fuzz Master pedal
Electro Harmonix Mel9 pedal (mellotron emulator)
Dunlop/MXR Octave Fuzz pedal
Mooer Ocean Machine pedal (reverb, delays, looper)
TC Electronic T3 pedal (modulated reverbs)
Strymon Engineering Zuma R300 power supply (for pedals)
Custom patch bay for pedals and mixer

The patch bay has Canare GS-4 cables soldered directly to the jacks with the other ends terminated with Squareplug SP400 Low Profile Flat TS plugs that connect to the pedals. The patch bay jacks are all normal'd together right to left, and by using patch cables I can easily reconfigure how the pedals are interconnected. The normal connections are:
Mixer EFX send - Fuzz Master - Mel9 - Octave Fuzz - Ocean Machine - T3 - mixer EFX returns*
but in this video I used the mixer insert for the channel the Mellotron is plugged into to connect to the Fuzz Master - T3 and then the rest is configured as:
Mixer EFX send - Mel9 - Octave Fuzz - Ocean Machine - mixer EFX returns*
*the jacks connected to the stereo mixer returns have a second set of cables that go to mixer input 7/8 and by turning up the Aux send for the channel I can create feedback."

M2Synth Sequencer 192 Demo

video upload by John L Rice

JLRs Modular Synthesizers - System Breakdown posts

"Watch me as I learn how to use this new modular synth sequencer! More exciting than watching paint dry?! ;-)

Index:

0:00 Beginning
0:24 Powering On And Basic Track Selection/Playing
2:06 Building A Track From Scratch
2:50 Changing Note Values
4:33 Changing Tempo
4:58 The Importance Of Saving
5:50 More Editing
6:46 The Reset Command
7:26 RUH ROH!
8:15 Back On Track - The Reset Command (again)
8:55 The Stop Command
9:15 The Reverse Command
9:38 Setting Commands On The Correct Step
10:35 Ratcheting
12:40 Setting Step Length
14:58 Repeat Functionality
18:05 Starting A New Track (but skipping most of it)
19:37 The Final Finished (?) Track
20:00 End

Kits for this and other M2Synth modules will be available soon in MOTM and MU compatible formats from https://www.soundtronics.co.uk/ and prebuilt modules as well as cases and power supplies will be available from https://www.m2synth.com/

For those wondering about the details of the modular synth I'm using here I did System Breakdown #4 on it 10 months ago:"

JLRs Modular Synthesizers - System Breakdown #4 -

video upload by John L Rice

"This is the fourth video breakdown/rundown for one of my modular synth systems, this time I'm doing one of my smallest 5U systems that is in a Moon Modular case. Next time I'll do my Ace toolbox Eurorack system. Please subscribe to my channel and click the 'bell' button to be notified when I post new videos! :-)

Index:
0:00 Beginning
0:20 Introduction/
3:08 Modules and Modifications Overview
7:23 Modification Details
11:05 Miscellaneous Items and Final Words
11:55 Low Effort Nothing To Write Home About System Wiggle
19:04 End

List of manufacturers and modules in this system:
Corsynth - C112 Assistants
Club of the Knobs - C 1631
Synthesizers.com - Q167
Electrosmith - 3340 VCO (x 2)
Electrosmith - 2144 LPF
Synthesizers.com - Q109 (x 2)
Synthesizers.com - Q148
Synthesizers.com - Q115"

5U Modular Synth Demos by Duende S Featuring GRP, Klee Sequencer, and DSI Prophet 12

Published on May 19, 2017

These in via John L Rice.

Playlist:

1. Grp r24 sequencer. Quick demo. Positivity
"Quick demo of my new Grp R24 sequencer. Bass and drums came from klee sequencer. Row 3 is transposing the other two and is sent by midi to prophet 12 with arpegiator and hold on"

2. Modular Synth ideas
"Some ideas with my modular synth. The video was recorded with my phone, so i´m sorry the bad quality."

3. Hexinverter Jupiter Storm Cosmic Noise 5u modular
"Test basico del Hexinverter Jupiter Storm"

4. Klee sequencer impro
"Pequeña improvisacion con el Klee sequencer y el DSI prophet 12. Sin editar, grabado directamente en un multipistas roland vs-1824 con la reverb y delay de este.
Vco dotcom, Oakley y cinthia zeroscillator
Vcf dotcom, moon modular
Vca corsynth."

5. Klee Sequencer
"Pequeña demo del klee sequencer, el audio no es muy bueno, esta grabado directamente con el movil, pero se ve lo que puede hacer este sequenciador"

GRP Synthesizer R24 Sequencer - First Test

Published on May 9, 2017 John L Rice

"Unpack and let the camera roll! I wasn't happy with the lighting
and focus so I threw an effect on the video.

More info at: http://www.grpsynthesizer.it/index.ph..."

Update:

CLICK FOR MORE »

JLR's Modular Synthesizers - System Breakdown #8 -

video upload by John L Rice

John L Rice System Breakdown posts

"This is my eighth video breakdown/rundown, this time for my custom folding 5U system. Please subscribe to my channel and click the 'bell' button to be notified when I post new videos! (because as you may know, I post inconsistently and change the schedule at random! 😒😊)

Index:
0:00 Beginning
0:20 Introduction
1:14 Contents Rundown
4:26 Module and System Modifications
14:17 Shirt
14:52 Gig Bag and Additional Power Supply Talk
17:12 Final Words
17:42 Demo 1 - Simple Drone
18:49 Demo 2 - Four Voice Polyphonic
20:55 Demo 3 - Two Voice Polyphonic
22:10 Demo 4 - Percussive Rhythms
24:04 Demo 5 - Simple Sequence
28:03 Demo 6 - Another Drone
31:55 Demo 7 - The Final Noodle
35:20 End

List of the modules in this system:
Martin Jan Koehler - Tidal Modulator
Grove Audio - GMS-742 MIDI To CV, GMS-714 Quad VCA
Soundtronics/M2Synth - Sequencer 192
Synthetic Soundlabs - 1600 YuSynth Triple Clock Divider, 1660 The Matrix Algorithmic Composer
Free State FX - Digital Utilities, Dual Trigger Processor x 2
Noise Engineering - Basimilus Iteritas Magnus (or Dove Audio WTF VCO)
Moon Modular - 501D Dual VCO x2, 501M Oscillator Mixer x 2
Happy Nerding - Fun VCF x 2

You can see details of the modules on my ModularGrid page:
https://www.modulargrid.net/d/racks/v...

As always, thank you for watching, rating, following, subscribing, and commenting! 🥳 If you found the content of this video helpful, interesting, or entertaining, please consider showing your support so I can stay stocked up on coffee and cookies. 😋 https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/JohnL..."

One Half Of One Million

Published on Dec 28, 2015 John L Rice

Congrats to John L Rice!

"Another bit of messing around, this time with a lot of Modcan modules.

The 'sequence' was created with all 4 outputs of a Modcan 66B Control into to two Modcan 55B quantizers whose output fed 4 Synth Tech MOTM-300 VCOs. The VCO saw outputs were passed through 2 Happy Nerding FUN VCFs for a little fixed filtering and then on to a Modcan 31B quad VCA which was controlled by a Modcan 60B quad EG and the mixed output of the VCA was run through a Modcan 73B dual delay before getting to the final line mixer, a Samson SM10. The EG and quantizers were gated by a Moon Modular 568+568A trigger sequencer setup and the 568 and 73B were clocked from a Modcan 53B clock.

The Mellotron M4000D was noodled by hand but while some of its output went right to the SM10 mixer, it was also routed out to a Modcan 40B dual multimode VCF, that was being modulated by a Synth Tech MOTM-380 LFO, and the 40B's output was sent through a Club Of The Knobs (COTK) C1660 VC Phase Processor before returning to two inputs on the SM10 mixer.

Strymon BigSky and Roland RSP-550 reverbs were used on the SM10 mixer's effects loops and a little bit of reverb plug-in was used in Sony Music Studio during editing.

Thank you again everyone! :-) I hope to do a lot more in 2016 including increasing performance and production quality and maybe even finally getting one or more albums released . . . FINALLY! ;-) Have a happy and productive New Year, all!"

MMTA SUMMER SYNTHFEST 2012 - John L Rice

YouTube Uploaded by matrixsynth on Jun 4, 2012 Update: updated the gear featured:

Just a brief flyover of John L Rice's monster modular system. The 5U system features Modcan, Moon Modular (aka The Lunar Experience), STG, Synthesizers.com, COTK, a Cynthia Zeroscillator, Synthesis Technology aka MOTM, Happy Nerding – Super Sawtor, Oakley/Krisp1 – Croglin VCF, and MegaOhm - CdS VCF/A. You can also see a Sequentix Cirklon and a Novation Supernova racked. The video also features his eurorack system including Modcan – Touch Sequencer, Synth Tech – (all available!) 340, 350, 560, 580, Malekko/Wiard – NoiseRing, Circuit Abbey – Unify, TipTop – frames, uZeus, drum modules etc.

Remember to see the MMTA SYNTHFEST 2012 label for more.

http://www.mostlymodular.com/

---
Update: Grooveshark link removed. Click here for an article on them by Cinch Solutions.

Let's Do Each Other, Again! by John L Rice

Published on May 2, 2014 John L Rice·258 videos

"More of the same, this time with a sequencer."

John L Rice: MOTS At Lusio, A Night To Awaken

Published on Aug 31, 2019 John L Rice

"As per my usual, I didn't have any idea of what I was going to perform until the day before the performance, but for what it's worth, here it is! ;-) I had fun none the less and a big thank you to Mollie, Bradley, Chris, Philip, Justin, James, Kevin, everyone else who helped out, all the other great performers , and big hugs to the wonderful members of the audience!

If you want to know more about MOTS (Modular On The Spot) and Modular Nights shows, to either be part of the audience or to perform yourself, contact Modular Seattle:
https://www.modularseattle.com/

Learn more about Lusio here: https://www.lusiolight.com/

As per the MOTS tradition, I only used a modular synthesizer, you can get a good look at it at 2:35. I had three stereo patches on the modular, a sequenced background and then two different lead voices I controlled with an Arturia KeyStep keyboard and Mutable Instruments Yarns MIDI to CV/Gate module:

1) The background patch was the most complex, it was a four voice shift registered sequence featuring an Erica Synths Black Clock, a Division6 SQ816 sequencer, a VPME T43 precision adder, a Synth Tech E102 shift register, an Instruo Quad Performance Quantizer with micro keyboard, 4 Synth Tech E330 VCOs, a Modcan Quad LFO, a 2hp clock divider/multiplier, a Doepfer quad envelop generator, a Xaoc Devices stereo mixer, and a Strymon Engineering Magneto delay/reverb.

2) The rich fat typical synth voice was a Modcan Triple VCO into a Synth Tech E440 low pass filter along with an Erica Synths EG and VCA for voicing and an Audio Damage reverb module and then finally to a Circuit Abbey mixer.

3) The plucky voice was simply a Mutable Instruments Rings into Clouds and then to a second Circuit Abbey mixer. I had the patch set up in stereo where the output switched sides every time I played a note but unfortunately there was a problem with one of the cables so only every other note was heard! Whoopsie! ;-)"

Evolution Of A Sequencer Patch (part 3 or 4?)

video upload by John L Rice

Additional posts

"More tweaks of the same patch. I changed the main sequence voice’s envelope curve, added in a the second M564 sequential switch to juggle the clock divider outputs going to your 569ES, added the M552 to control a MIDI synth from the sequencer (a Roland Integra7 playing a vibraphone sound), the 569 sequencer is now transposing itself using the third row, and added another synth bass voice controlled by the third row. #sequencer #modularsynth #electronicmusic"

Sequencer Therapy Part 2 - October 21 2023

video upload by John L Rice

"Expanding off the patch from the previous video: besides several tweaks I added in the Club Of The Knobs Ratchet Sequencer and a Moon Modular 569 sequencer to control it. I also played along on an ExpressiveE Osmose keyboard and a Roland Integra7. #modularsynth #sequencer #electronicmusic"

Using Moon Modular Sequential Divider Switches To Control Sequencer Step Position

video upload by John L Rice

"I’ve long loved the Moon Modular 564 Sequential Switch (directly inspired by the PPG 313) and love the Moon 569 sequencer as well, but I’ve often wished that the 569 somehow had an additional row of switches that could be used to set how many clock pulses a step would stay on each position like the 564 does. This is my attempt to use two 564 switches with the 569 to make it happen, with some limitations. Of course using an external voltage controlled clock to drive the sequencer with one of the sequencer rows controlling the clock can achieve similar results, but that sort of patch isn’t as predictably playable."

Sequencer Therapy - October 17 2023

video upload by John L Rice

"I just felt like playing with a sequence for my peace of mind. Not as good as hugging a dog, but better than nothing! 🤓😁 Klee sequencer built by Megaohm Audio is shown. Off screen the usual modules: Synth Tech MOTM-300 VCOs, MOTM-380 LFO, Moon 517 VCF, Oakley/Krisp1 VCAs, STG Envelopes, Modcan 55B quantizer and 73B delay, Club Of The Knobs C969 clock, Strymon and Lexicon reverb. #modularsynth #sequencer #electronicmusic"

Slowly Learning The Five12 Vector Sequencer

video upload by John L Rice

"Just some baby steps as I learn to use the Vector Sequencer and integrate it into this system. The Vector Sequencer is just playing two chords and sending them via MIDI to the genXnoise dXeus machina (8 DX7’s in an 8 hp module!) and the MIDI thru goes to the Mutable Instruments Yarns which I’m selectively using to play four SynthTech based voices ."

http://www.five12.com

Same Patch The Next Day

video upload by John L Rice

"Pretty much the same setup as the last video, minus the FS1R and plus some sequencer related modules. This time I sequenced the poly modular and used a second keyboard to transpose the sequence while playing the Mellotron brass from the main keyboard. I almost didn't post this and may delete it but I'll leave it up for now.

Modular Polysynth:
1 x Synth Tech MOTM-650 MIDI to CV
4 x Synth Tech MOTM-300 VCOs
4 x Happy Nerding FM AIDs
2 x Moon 517 dual VCFs
2 x Oakley/Krisp1 dual VCAs
1 x Club Of The Knobs C911P poly EG
1 x Mutable Instruments/Martin Jan Koehler Tides/Tidal Modulator

Sequencer setup:
Moon Modular 569 Quad Sequential Voltage Source
Club Of The Knobs C969 Euclidian Bi-Clock Sequencer
Moon Modular 591 Switch

Other Polysynths:
Mellotron M4000D

Effects:
Strymon Timeline Delay
Strymon BigSky Reverb
Lexicon M400 Reverb

Thanks for watching! :-)

#modularsynth #modularsynthesizer #synthesizer"